Prince of Dragons
by Lupercalia
Summary: FFIV- Life has settled into monotony for Cecil, Rosa, and Kain. But when an otherworldly messenger appears, looking for help, Kain's forgotten past may be the key to saving the future. First story, R/R please.
1. Default Chapter

The messenger stumbled out of the Breach into the tall grass. Thankfully, it was cooler here, on this side of the portal. It was closer to spring here, in the New World, rather than the balmy jungle summer she had just left. The cool breeze did little to cool her body; armor held in heat no matter the weather. The zephyr did lift her dark hair from her neck, allowing her some small bit of comfort. With a whispered word from the young woman, the Breach closed as if it had never been.  
  
The young woman raised her head. There, rising in the distance, was the castle Baron and its surrounding town. Close enough that she would reach it by midday, but far enough that no bystander was going to be scared out of his wits by a young woman tumbling out of thin air. It was morning here, the sun slowly making its ascent, a stark contrast to the night she had left in her own world.  
  
She wished heartily for a horse, or one of those oversized birds that the denizens of this world, the New World, reportedly rode. While she was no stranger to exertion, trudging miles in her armor was not a welcome way to spend a morning. Especially not when her internal clock was stubbornly insisting that it was the middle of the night. Sighing hard enough to ruffle the black strands of hair that had escaped her coronet, she set off towards Baron.  
  
*** ***  
  
Cecil Harvey Ya, King of Baron, pored over documents at his desk while his ever-present guard, sardonic companion, and chief advisor sat peeling an apple with his boots up on the table.  
  
"Kain," the king raised his sea-green eyes, "I'm not going to go haring off on some mad quest, or get abducted by pirates, if you take your eyes off of me for one instant. Don't you have anything better to do than stand guard over me?"  
  
"You have to admit," Kain Highwind, captain of the Baronian Guard and last of the Dragon Knights, retorted, brandishing an apple slice, "If anyone on this planet was going to be abducted by pirates, it would be you. And as for mad quests, if you do decide to go on one, I just want to make sure I'm around when you leave so I can go with you." Kain's tone was merry, but his blue eyes betrayed his true emotions. He, like Cecil, was itching to get out of the castle. They had been to the ends of the earth together, seen things no other human had, and saved the world from imminent destruction. And now, they spent most of their time here in this room, managing the kingdom.  
  
Cecil ran a hand through his white hair. "Adventure… I can't even remember what the word means. I wouldn't trust anyone else to do this job right, but being a king is so boring!"  
  
"If you think that's boring, try being me for a day," Kain retorted. "You may be bored, but my job is to sit around and watch you being bored. It brings the word to a whole new level."  
  
"And you two are whining like children," commented a sardonic voice from the doorway. "For shame, would you wish another disaster upon us that we could go and save the world again?" The newcomer was Queen Rosa, Cecil's wife. A cloud of dark blond hair framed her delicate features. Her dark eyes, despite the seriousness of her words, danced with amusement.  
  
Like chastised children, Kain and Cecil both lowered their eyes. "Sorry," mumbled Cecil. Twenty-seven years old they were, and still getting into trouble with her.  
  
A page cleared his throat uncomfortably behind Rosa. "Your graces, Captain, there's a woman here to see you." The boy was a familiar face, and he had lost some of the dumbstruck awe that plagued most new pages at being assigned to serve the King and his companions. "She's uh… very persistent." The youth reddened beneath his freckles. "Sir Cormoran tried to turn her away, and she uh… well… she hit him, your grace."  
  
Kain snickered, earning a quelling glance from Rosa. "Is Sir Cormoran all right?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"He'll be fine," Kain answered for the page. "He's got a hard head."  
  
"Well, should we admit her?" Cecil asked his two closest friends. He, like Kain, could see the humor in a woman, probably some scorned housewife, hitting one of his knights. But, without knowing the woman's intent, he was wary of admitting her into his presence.  
  
"I don't see why not," Kain replied. "I don't think she'd have the ba-," he looked guiltily at Rosa, "-scuse me, guts rather, to hit Cecil."  
  
"Well then, show her in, if you would be so kind," Cecil nodded at the page, who quickly scurried away. "Now where is my-,"  
  
Wordlessly, Kain held out a circlet of beaten gold to the king. Cecil hated wearing it, and often managed to misplace it. Luckily for him, his diligent wife and friend were always a step behind, picking it up whenever he put it down.  
  
"Thanks," Cecil replied sheepishly, placing the crown on his cloud- like locks. "So, O Star of the Morning, care to make any wagers on this woman's grievance?" He smiled at his wife, who was busily trying to clear up some of the clutter that had accumulated during the morning.  
  
"How come you don't flatter me like that?" Kain asked coquettishly, batting long gold lashes at Cecil mockingly. Gone was the introspective, haunted Kain of several years age. Whatever had transpired on Mt. Ordeals had given Cecil back his best friends, and for that, he was grateful.  
  
"Does the Noble Boyhood Companion wish to place a bet?" Cecil asked extravagantly.  
  
"That's better," Kain returned. "I'm going with fisherwife who wants to divorce her husband for tumbling the serving girls at the inn."  
  
"How about an old herb-woman who wants one of the Guard-trainees strung up for trampling her garden?" Cecil offered. Rosa just rolled her eyes. All three had visions of some old, stubborn crone who would set the king on his ear if need be to get her way. Kain receded into the shadows of the room, allowing the royal couple the honor of receiving the guest. If needed, he would be a step away.  
  
When Phedre c'Fenrir appeared in the doorway, the trio could do naught but gape. Her eyes, a startling purple, locked onto Cecil's immediately, as she strode into the room. She was fully armed and armored, with a determined set in her eye. Kain, peering at the girl over Cecil's left shoulder, was astounded. He had never seen a girl dressed in armor like this before, but he wasn't about to take any chances. His own spear was out of reach, but if he stretched his leg just right, he figured he might be able to snag Cecil's sword with his foot. The young woman, however, rather than draw the sword at her back, kneeled to Cecil, briefly touching her mailed fingers to her brow and lips. "Your grace," she said in an alien accent unlike any Kain had ever heard.  
  
Cecil looked pole-axed for a moment, but quickly rallied. "Can I-ah… help you?" This girl was very strange. In full armor? With a sword? While he had been around his share of battle-ready woman in his day, he had never seen one garbed in anything but robes or leotards like the Troian guard. She was also, undeniably, beautiful.  
  
"My name is Phedre c'Fenrir," the girl said musically as she rose to her feet gracefully. "My people seek the aid of yours. There is a… sickness… invading our world. And if it is not stopped, it will soon encroach upon this one." Her luminous eyes held Cecil's beseechingly.  
  
"Your world?" Cecil asked uncomprehendingly, green eyes wide.  
  
"The Old World," the girl said, almost impatiently, as if Cecil should know exactly what she was speaking of. Then, as the Paladin King and his Queen continued to stare blankly at her, horror dawned across her features. "You don't… remember?" she asked. "The Old World? The Corinthii?" When she didn't receive a glimmer of recognition from the regents, she gasped. "Then it's worse than we feared."  
  
"Please, if you would just tell us what you're talking about," Cecil prodded. Was the girl crazy? She didn't seem it, however. There was an lucidity in those dark purple eyes that told Cecil that whatever the girl was saying, she believed every word.  
  
"You have forgotten us…" the girl breathed, color leaching out of her dusky face. She then shook her head as if to clear it. "I am Corinthaya, the Old Race," she said, and then twisted her face into a grimace. "This will seem so absurd to you, if you have truly lost your history."  
  
Kain was inching forward from his place in the shadows of the room to stand at Cecil's side. The girl was speaking gibberish, or near to it, but there was something about her that was calling to him.  
  
"Suffice it to say that my people, the Corinthii, and yours, were once one. The Old World was our home, where we dwelled for millennia, until a great war broke out. Man against man, dragon against dragon…"  
  
"Dragon?" interjected Rosa, but the girl had continued.  
  
"The result of the war was that the People were sundered. Most of us wished to stay in the Old World, with the dragons, but some swore off the kirithii and magic altogether. They became the Children, and they came to this world to dwell apart from the temptations of magic."  
  
"But we have magic here," Rosa offered, refuting the strange girl's story.  
  
"Because we created the crystals. A generation, two, went by, and you could not ignore the call of magic in your blood. Because your world did not have any, you beseeched us to create the crystals so that you could once again use the magic within yourselves."  
  
Kirithii. The word repeated over and over in Kain's head. Kirithii. So familiar, and yet, he was unable to grasp the meaning. He finally revealed himself to the girl by stepping up to Cecil's shoulder. While Cecil and Rosa stared in disbelief at the girl's story, Kain could not discount the way that the alien word resounded within him. "Kirithii?" he croaked. The girl started, unaware until now of the fourth presence in the room.  
  
Phedre immediately dropped to her knees again, bowing her head. "My Lord Dragon Prince," she said reverently to Kain, who could only gape in astonishment. 


	2. Chapter 2

I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to work the Lunarians in yet, since their long lifespan might wreak havoc on the timeline I've created. But just take everything with a grain of salt, if it conflicts with what is said in the game, try and keep an open mind. Also, most of the names are based off of the FFIV version, except I happen to like Kain better with a "K". Enjoy, and please R/R.  
  
*** ***  
  
  
  
Kain offered his hand sheepishly to the girl. "I'm no prince," he assured her. Phedre rose to her feet slowly, taking Kain's long fingered hand for support as she regained her stance.  
  
"You have no idea, my lord," she whispered cryptically, before turning back to the royal couple. "I know not how you could have forgotten the Corinthii and the Old World. Unless, of course, you were somehow made to forget…," Rosa pursed her thin lips. This was beginning to sounds like a conspiracy theory. Phedre, noting the wan queen's reaction, squared her shoulders. "Is there, perhaps, a library I could look through?" the raven- haired girl asked.  
  
"So you can manufacture some "evidence" of your ridiculous claim?" Rosa asked coldly. Phedre stepped back as if stung. Cecil laid a restraining hand on his queen's arm.  
  
"Perhaps you could accompany me to the library in order to ensure my good behavior, your grace," Phedre murmured. She said it with no malice, but still Kain raised one sandy eyebrow at the girl's response. Tense silence filled the room. Phedre held Rosa's dark eyes steadily. Rosa, infuriated at the girl's presumptiveness, stepped forward.  
  
"I would remind you that you speak to the king and queen of this state. Alter your behavior accordingly," Rosa said, dark eyes flashing. Kain and Cecil's jaws dropped simultaneously; the had never heard Rosa take that tone with anyone.  
  
"We are all of us nobles here," Phedre answered with aplomb. She was uncomfortable with three pairs of eyes staring at her, especially as she was hot and sweaty beneath her armor, but she refused to back down.  
  
"Tell me, your graces, my lord," she said. Kain didn't bother to correct her about his status this time. "How far back does your history go?"  
  
Cecil cocked his head, crown slipping sideways on his cloud-hair, but Kain guessed what the girl was getting at. "You mean what's the earliest event we have recorded?"  
  
"Exactly, my lord," Phedre answered. "You ancestors went through the Breach 946 years ago. Can you tell me of any event you know of that happened more than 946 years ago?"  
  
Silence fell once more. Cecil became acutely aware that he, Kain, and Rosa were all standing in a phalanx-like formation, and Phedre was practically in the doorway.  
  
"Why don't we have a seat?" the king suggested, still mulling over what Phedre had said as he pulled out his desk chair. "The earliest I can think of is the founding of Damcyan which was…," Cecil added the years up in his head, "…about 900 years ago." History was divided into two eras, the nebulous period of time before the founding of Mysidia, 612 years ago, and AF, after its founding.  
  
"That's the earliest thing I can think of, as well," Kain admitted as he took his own seat. "Even Mysidia isn't that old."  
  
Phedre's brow wrinkled. "Damcyan," she murmured, turning the word over in her mind. The Baronian trio looked at her oddly. "Ah!" she exclaimed in triumph. "Dahmskayan… City of the People of the Fire, is it not?"  
  
"Err…," Cecil replied, unhelpfully.  
  
"Well, that is the seat of the Crystal of Fire," Rosa said reluctantly.  
  
"That's what Dahmskayan means in the Old Language," Phedre offered as she uncomfortable settled her armor-clad torso into a chair. "It must be named for the Crystal. Regardless, Do you not wonder why your history begins 900 years ago? Have you never wondered what occurred before that?"  
  
Cecil shrugged, massaging his temples. "It… never occurred to me to wonder. What about you, Kain?" The king knew that his tall, blond friend was a history buff.  
  
"Didn't occur to me, either," the Dragon Knight admitted. "Could there have been a war a thousand years ago? Maybe some cataclysmic event?" He was beginning to see what Phedre was getting at. "But that event would have to show up in a history book somewhere…"  
  
"You said that your… people… created the crystals for us after a few generations," Rosa said, slowly warming to the subject, despite her unreasoning distaste for Phedre. "Why isn't our contact with you, which would have been just around the time of Damcyan's founding, recorded anywhere? That is, if we assume that the founding coincides with the creation of the crystals?"  
  
Phedre shrugged. "I have no idea," she admitted. "That's what I'm stumbling over as well. According to our histories, we kept in close contact with you until about 700 years ago."  
  
"Forget that for a moment," Kain said. There was some nagging feeling within him that there was something important he had forgotten, and it grew stronger every time he looked into Phedre's purple eyes. He shook away the thought. "Mysidia is the seat of the Crystal of Water… but it was only founded 600 years ago. If Phedre's right, then where was the crystal before that?"  
  
Rosa smiled triumphantly at the hole in Phedre's story. She couldn't explain why, but the girl angered her. Though it was uncharitable of her, she prayed that Phedre could be proven wrong so the newcomer would leave. She hated the way Phedre's dark skin and glowing eyes contrasted with her own pale appearance. The queen was immediately embarrassed at the thought, but managed to keep her emotions hidden. Phedre, however, quickly met Rosa's eyes as if she had guessed her thoughts.  
  
The group fell silent once more, pondering Kain's question. Kain, for his part, was beginning to believe Phedre's story, although he could not say why. The word she had spoken before… kirithii… still was sending a shock up his spine whenever he thought it.  
  
"What's the word for water in your language?" Kain snapped his fingers at Phedre. Before she could answer, however, the Dragon Knight colored. "I'm sorry for my rudeness," he apologized. "You did say you were a noble, did you not? I'm sure you're not used to having people snap their fingers at you."  
  
"I am a princess, scion of the house Fenrir," Phedre answered, and then laughed. "I also have six older brothers and sisters. I get snapped at all the time, my lord. The word for water in my language is Yevebeylan."  
  
"Yevebeylan…," Cecil mused. He tried hard to remember his linguistics classes from his boyhood. While everyone on the planet spoke the same language, each city-state had its own peculiar dialect. "Yev would mutate to ev…,"  
  
"And beylan to b'lan…" Kain added excitedly. "Evblan! It used to be in Eblan!"  
  
"But, how?" Rosa asked. Eblan isn't nearly as close to the water as Mysidia is…,"  
  
"But didn't Edge say that the coastline moved further and further out each year?"  
  
"Yevebeylan can also mean "shallows" with the right inflection," Phedre offered. "Are there many shallows or shoals near this Eblan?"  
  
"There are indeed, my lady," Kain said extravagantly. "I must say, your words are beginning to seem more and more plausible."  
  
"Then will you show me the library?" Phedre asked again, beseeching Kain with her eyes. "Perhaps we can find something there…,"  
  
"We will all go the library," Cecil decided. "But after some lunch, all this talk is making me hungry." Rosa could do naught but agree with his assessment. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
"Very well, then," Cecil agreed. "Lunch first, perhaps an afternoon nap… and then we can peruse the library. Rosa, could you escort Phedre to a room? And perhaps outfit her with some…,"  
  
"Casual-," Kain interjected. How long had they been finishing each other's sentences?  
  
"Casual clothing?"  
  
"Of course," Rosa replied, still somewhat coolly. "Phedre, if you'll follow me?"  
  
"Certainly, your grace," the girl replied, rising with some creaking of her armor. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the two men.  
  
"We'll send a page to you when we're ready to go to the library. You're welcome to head down to the refectory if you'd like some food," the king informed her. He also cast a quick, admonishing glance at Rosa. His gentle queen was treating the visitor with an animosity that he had never seen in her before. He hoped that the women would be civil once they were alone.  
  
The men watched the two backs retreat through the door, Phedre's tall, silver-clad frame preceded by Rosa's smaller one. Kain opened his mouth as soon as he judged that the girls were out of earshot, but Cecil shook his head. Gesturing wildly with one hand, which was Cecil's signature way of using magic, the Paladin king cast a quick spell to make sure his wife wasn't listening in.  
  
Coast clear, Cecil gestured for his friend to continue. Kain threw his arms up in the air in exasperation. "Cecil, I know that it all sounds absurd. I mean, why have we not heard of these people before? And why would she come to us, of all people?" Kain's dark blue eyes held Cecil's.  
  
"But you believe her," Cecil said. It wasn't a question.  
  
"I do." The Dragon Knight lifted his chin stubbornly.  
  
Cecil sighed, and removed his crown, tossing it on the desk. Kain immediately took note of its location for future reference. "I do too, old friend. "I do too."  
  
*** ***  
  
Phedre easily matched the queen's strides as they traversed the inner corridors of Castle Baron. Great buntings of all colors brightened up the grey stone of the walls, but even in the spring weather, the castle air was still chilly. Although Phedre could tell that the queen was trying to outdistance her, Phedre's legs were longer. "Your grace," the younger girl murmured. No response. "Your grace."  
  
Rosa finally turned, expectantly. Phedre cocked her head and eyed the queen appraisingly. "Your grace, I must admit that your language was not my first. I didn't learn your tongue until I was thirteen, so I would ask your forgiveness if I misspoke earlier. I seem to have somehow offended you." She easily held the queen's eyes with her otherworldly stare. A slow blush crept up Rosa's fair cheeks, until finally she smiled.  
  
"No, I apologize, Phedre. I had no right to treat you that way." The queen said it sincerely, but couldn't help still feel somehow threatened by the girl. Phedre smiled back, but took note of the wary glance in Rosa's dark eyes. Phedre followed the queen up a sprawling stone staircase, and took note of all the eyes fixed on her.  
  
"Here we are," Rosa murmured, opening a wooden door to reveal a room filled with clothes. "You can pick out what you like, and change over there." She indicated a series of screens at the far side of the room.  
  
"Actually, your grace, is there any way I could take a bath?" Phedre asked. "I'm sure I smell like my armor, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone."  
  
"Of course, dear," the queen replied, secretly resentful of the girl's forwardness. "Grab some clothes and I'll show you the way. If you'd like, you can send your armor to the armory to be cleaned while you're bathing."  
  
Phedre smiled over her shoulder as she perused a rack of soft leather pants. While she was sure that a dress would be more proper, she was still in a foreign land, and it was much easier to fight in pants, if the need arose. She found a pair that looked as if they would suit her, as well as a white linen shirt. She also found a leather tunic with laces up the sides that would be perfect for doing her sword exercises, should she find herself here more than a few days. "All set, your grace." Rosa led the tall girl out into the hall once more, headed for the baths, deep within the bowels of the castle.  
  
*** ***  
  
"Rosa doesn't like her, you know," Kain offered. The men were seated on opposite sides of Cecil's desk, Cecil with head in his hands, and Kain, characteristically, with his boots up on the desk.  
  
"I noticed," Cecil murmured. "I also noticed that you do."  
  
Kain blushed, but studiously ignored the betrayal of his light skin. "There's something about what she's saying, Cece. I can't explain it, but it's also like some part of me remembers some of what she's talking about. I don't know how, since I've been here, in Baron, my whole life, but I just know she's telling the truth. And it has nothing to do with the fact that she's pretty."  
  
"Very pretty," Cecil agreed, and quickly looked over his shoulder for his wife. "So, what should we do now?"  
  
"Put an unobtrusive guard on her," Kain replied, suddenly very much the Captain. "But not a soldier or anything… she looks like she knows how to use that sword of hers, and if she feels threatened… maybe a page or something? A chambermaid…" Kain's eyes got wide as he caught the gleam in Cecil's light green eyes. "Cece, no. That's a very, very bad idea."  
  
Cecil was grinning now. "But who else could I trust?"  
  
"Anyone! Not me! I'm not spying on her!"  
  
"You're the perfect guard. You could overpower her if she got out of control, you won't ask any awkward questions like a page would about our little situation here, and you also have access to the entire castle." The king folded his arms, a smirk on his handsome features.  
  
"Do my six years of loyal service mean nothing to you? I hate skulking around and spying on people."  
  
"Don't be so melodramatic, Kain," Cecil said with a laugh at his friend's puppy-dog expression. "There are harder ways to spend a few hours than following a pretty girl around the castle." A flash of white robes caused Cecil to turn to Rosa, who had just appeared in the doorway. "And there's my lovely wife now. So, dear, which room have you assigned Phedre to?"  
  
Rosa, unaware of Kain's new assignment, replied, "North tower, in the gold suite. Right now, though, she's in the bath." Cecil grinned evilly at his friend, who buried his face in his hands. 


	4. Chapter 4

Kain could feel his ears burning as he silently padded into the bathing room. He would do anything to protect Cecil and Rosa, not to mention the security of the city-state of Baron. But spying on a young woman in the baths was a little much. Phedre, though she had seemed quite capable of using the sword she had been armed with, seemed neither malicious nor crazy. While what she had been saying about the Old World and the Breach had seemed like utter nonsense on the surface, something in her words was resonating deep within him, striking a familiar chord that he couldn't quite remember.  
  
His breath caught and he nearly stumbled over his large feet as he rounded a corner to find Phedre sitting on the edge of a bathing pool. She had a towel around her waist, but her dusky back was bare. Her straight black hair was piled on her head, revealing a tattoo of a wolf on the back of her long neck. The tattoo, however, was unlike the crude drawings and phrases he had seen inked on sailors and mercenaries. Those were blurry, indistinct, and invariable black or green, but Phedre's wolf was a beautiful violet-grey, with the same dark purple eyes that Phedre had. Something tugged at Kain's memory. What had she said her surname was? C'Fenrir? He knew that Fenrir was a wolf from the Land of Summoned Monsters, one that his old friend Rydia could summon. Phedre of the Wolves?  
  
"My Lord," Phedre called, startling Kain so badly he dropped his spear. It was just a plain, functional wooden spear, but it still made quite a clatter against the floor tiles. "I can't very well assassinate the king from my bath, can I?" She laughed throatily, causing Kain great relief. Who knew what kind of insult her people considered being spied upon in the bath? He had no idea how formal her people were with such things. Kain realized as the thought crossed his mind that he truly believed every word Phedre had said, truly believed that she was from another world. But then, why not? Cecil's family was, too.  
  
"Let me put my tunic on, my lord, and then you can come out in the open, rather than skulking about in the shadows." The tall blonde couldn't help but watch as Phedre reached beside her and, taking the leather tunic that was pulled there, shrugged into it. She stood up and smoothed the tunic down, pulling off her towel as well. The tunic, laced at the sides, came to Phedre's mid-thigh. Kain nearly choked as she turned her eyes on him and began to fiddle with the haft of his spear. She was beautiful in a way that was rare on the Blue Plant, but a way that called to his blood just as the strange words she had spoken earlier had.  
  
"So his grace sent you to spy on me in the bath?" she asked with a grin. Kain colored, cursing his fair complexion. He quickly rallied, however, drawing on his sardonic sense of humor.  
  
"As Captain of the Guard, I get all the choice assignments." The girl laughed.  
  
"My lord," Phedre began.  
  
"Please," he answered, taking a set next to her on the tiles. He noticed idly that many of the Baronian blue seashell tiles had to be replaced. "Just Kain is fine. Captain Highwind, if you absolutely must stand on ceremony. But I am most certainly not a lord."  
  
"Kain, then," Phedre murmured. "A good name… it must be a form of Kaignye." At Kain's puzzled look, she clarified, "Kaignye is the name of one of our legendary heroes… the man born from a dragon shell. A fitting name for the Prince of Dragons."  
  
"I'm not the Prince of anything," Kain answered, despite the jolt that hearing the Old World version of his name gave him.  
  
Phedre held out her hand in entreaty. "But Kain, you are. I can feel it all over you, your magic. Just as I am a scion of the Wolf House, and have Wolf Magic," with that, she unconsciously laid her fingers across the back of her neck, "So do you have Dragon Magic. It's written in every line of you. And as there are no more scions of Dragon House, you must be the last heir and Prince."  
  
Magic? Kain couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maybe Phedre was crazy, after all. He laughed bitterly. "Magic? Not me, Princess. There's nothing magical about me, whatsoever." He held out his hand, palm up. "Nothing."  
  
"No magic?" Phedre's eyes were huge. "But, my lord… Kain… you have more magic than anyone I've ever seen. It… surrounds you. Like a cloak." Kain searched the stranger's eyes for signs that she was jesting, but there were none. Phedre laid her fingers quickly across his wrist. "Do you believe me?"  
  
Kain shrugged. He did, but why? "I've been tested hundreds of times, Phedre. No white magic, no black magic. Not even ninja or Summoning magic. There's just no… how did they put it… Ispark/I within me."  
  
"Kain," the girl caught her lip between her teeth briefly. "I don't know how you came to be here, but you must have been born in the Old World. Your magic… is like mine. And our magic is completely different than the Blue Planets."  
  
Not… born in this world? Kain shook his head. Of course he was from the Blue Planet… his earliest memories were of this place. * And of feeling out of place * an inner voice added. Cecil, with his strange Lunar awareness, could remember Kain being at his side nearly as soon as the Lunarian was born. * But I'm six months older than Cece * What had happened in those six months?  
  
Phedre watched acceptance war over Kain's classically handsome features. Surprisingly, he nodded for her to go on. She didn't know whether he had digested the fact of his origin, or whether he was simply suspending his disbelief. Regardless, Phedre continued.  
  
"We draw our magic from everywhere, from the earth, the air, ourselves. And we can do what we wish with it with just a thought. No spells, no incantations, no prayers." Phedre opened her palm. Without any further movement, even a flicker of an eyelash, a violet flame appeared, dancing about Phedre's palm. Kain cocked his head. All the magic he'd ever seen, down to the easiest cure spell, required some sort of incantation.  
  
Banishing the flame, Phedre continued. Kain's odd feeling that someone had explained this to him before didn't abate. "The ancestors of the Blue Planet saw how much havoc magic could wreak. We are a magical race, both the Old World denizens and the New. But in the wrong hands, boundless power can be a terrible thing. When the New World people asked us to give them some magic back, they asked that we create boundaries on the power." Ohedre stopped, hoping that she wasn't going too fast or being too esoteric for the Dragon Knight, but he remained interested.  
  
"So you created the crystals." It wasn't a question; somehow Kain had Iremembered/I that information. How, though, could he have remembered something he had never learned?  
  
"Exactly." Phedre, too was surprised at Kain's acumen. "A spell is a… request. The caster asks the crystals to lend their power to him."  
  
"So for instance, a cure spell…" Kain, despite his former distaste for all things magical, was fascinated.  
  
"Well," the girl said, slowly, "I'm not sure exactly how it would work, but I'd imagine that it would involve the crystals of earth and fire. The light crystals, I mean."  
  
"And the dark crystals control black magic?"  
  
"Exactly, my lord. So we designed it so that your wizards had to request power, and also so that they couldn't use too much at once."  
  
Kain puzzled over her constant use of the first person plural to describe the efforts in creating the Blue Planet's magic. "When you say we," he asked, "Do you mean you, personally? How old are you?"  
  
Phedre grinned. "Twenty-one years old. And that's the same here as in the Old World, our years are pretty much the same length, give or take a few days. I tend to think in terms of 'we', because of my Wolf Magic. In addition to our regular magic, the Noble Houses have their own special magic, which revolves around their totem animal. Since wolves tend to think as a pack, my family does too." Phedre flashed the Dragon Knight a grin that could only be described as "wolfish" and suddenly she had blurred into a wolf. One with very purple eyes. Kain gaped.  
  
As she blurred back, Kain found his voice to ask, "So does that mean I can turn into a dragon?"  
  
Phedre smiled at him, catching a faint hint of longing in his eyes when he spoke of dragons. "Turn into one, speak to them, use their magic. Think about it, my lord, you can already fly." At another of Kain's astonished expressions, she demurred, "Now, Kain, if you would be so kind as to allow me to bathe, we do have to explain all of this to their graces soon." 


End file.
